Onset of Love and Snow
by Keifren1ooo
Summary: On the twenty-fifth day since impact on the planet, in the midst of catastrophe, Olimar realizes just how grateful he is to the Pikmin for everything they have done for him, and how they have always loved him no matter the circumstance. Oneshot.


**I don't know where I got this idea. This story was _supposed_ to originally be Christmas-themed, but... I don't know. You _will_ still see some slight Christmas related ideas still in the story, though, such as how the story takes place on Day 25. The reason that the story's rated T is because, well... you'll have to see for yourself. Another note, I was listening to a particular song while writing this. As much as you probably wish I was listening to a Pikmin related song, I wasn't. I was listening to a song from Mother 4 (the fangame), and it was called "Mom and Cooking and Stuff". I think that it would probably be better if you listened to that song while reading this story. In my opinion, it adds to the feel of the story, not to mention that it's a nice song. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

"_We combine our strength, fight, and get eaten  
__But we'll follow you until the end of our strength  
__We'll fight, be silent, and follow you  
__But we won't ask you to love us"_

_- Ai no Uta, by Strawberry Flower_

* * *

_**Day 25**_

The S.S. Dolphin ship gently touched down on the surface, and so too did the Onions.

So it was strange that the ship would harshly eject Captain Olimar onto the planet's surface, even after so touching down so lightly. Olimar, as usual, fell head-first onto the ground.

But something was strange. He was _supposed_ to land in the Forest of Hope today to find his twenty-ninth part, but if he was in the Forest of Hope... then why was there snow everywhere?

Olimar got up, brushing off some of the white flakes that had gotten on his suit. He looked around and saw that the entire forest was covered in a slim, white dusting of snow, and the flakes continued to fall ever so gently.

Olimar smiled to himself. Not including today, only five days remained until his life-support system failed him, but for once since he had crashed onto this planet, he actually felt happy. Only two parts remained, and then he would be able to see his family again! Oh, how he longed to see their faces again! How worried they must be after such a long delay on his interstellar vacation! And the snow heightened this prospect, giving Olimar just a little bit more hope.

The thoughts of his family motivated Olimar, and he quickly set off towards the red Onion and stood under the dim, crimson glow that emanated from underneath the Onion. Olimar was just about to call about thirty red Pikmin, but he hesitated. Would the Pikmin mind being in a little bit of snow? Hopefully they wouldn't be cold...

He decided to take the risk, and called out the thirty red Pikmin as he originally intended, and they came sliding down the long poles of the Onion. They seemed surprised at the light bits of white falling down, but they didn't seem too mind at all. That was good.

Olimar went on and called out thirty blue Pikmin and thirty yellow Pikmin, resulting in a total of ninety Pikmin. By then, the Pikmin had grown most curious of the snow, and many were playing around in it.

Others, on the other hand, didn't seem to fond of the snow. Olimar watched a few reds approach a frozen patch of grass, and tried to pull the grass apart for nectar. After several unsuccessful tries, the reds stamped their feet in anger, and returned back to the group, where the rest of the Pikmin were happily talking amongst themselves and playing in the snow.

Olimar couldn't help but chuckle. The child-like personality of these strange creatures never ceased to fascinate Olimar. Or humor him.

"Well, let's go!" Olimar announced. The Pikmin immediately settled then, and ever so loyal, they followed Olimar out of the landing site towards the south.

The snow was a bit deeper outside the landing area, and the Pikmin seemed to get even more interested in the white fluff. Olimar, however, was still moving on, and thus, the Pikmin followed too. The snow interested them, but following the Captain was their number one priority. So they continued to faithfully follow Olimar.

* * *

Olimar watched, satisfied, as the Pikmin carried back the twenty-ninth part back to his ship. The part then quickly merged with the ship, increasing its capabilities. Just one more part left! The image of his family grew stronger in contrast, and he could hear the laughing voices of his children...

It was still early in the day. There had been no Pikmin losses while getting the part, and the Pikmin still looked quite energetic and eager. There were no more parts left in the Forest of Hope, so with nothing to do, Olimar decided to let the Pikmin have their fun. He left the landing site, and as usual, the Pikmin followed. Olimar then walked towards the site where he had first found the yellow Onion.

Along the way, Olimar encountered no beasts. Perhaps it was the snow. Olimar didn't mind at all though. He just hoped that nothing else appear for the rest of the day, and that the snow would remain falling ever so gently.

Once Olimar had reached the large area where he had found the yellow Pikmin, he then dismissed the group of Pikmin. They began to play amongst each other in the snow. Some had even learned to make snowballs! Truly, they were much like children to Olimar.

Olimar decided just to lay down in front of a wall, still close to the playing Pikmin. He would just nap for a little while. As he laid down, his back on the cool, white frost on the ground he felt a few of the Pikmin curling up beside him. At first, it was strange. Normally, the Pikmin would carry Olimar back to their Onion if he ever took a nap! It would always be a strange experience for him. Now though, Olimar felt comfy with their curled up bodies beside him, and with the snow still drifting lightly, he fell into a surreal sleep...

* * *

_Cold..._

_ Oh, why is it so _cold_!?_

These thoughts swirled through Olimar's hazy mind, and he quickly woke up. He could now see the source of the cold.

A white expanse surrounded Olimar. Frantic, he tried looking around, but the snow whipping past obscured Olimar's vision so much that he could scarcely even see his hands in front of him, even if he tried wiping the snow off his helmet.

The source of the cold was clear now. A harsh blizzard had set in as Olimar slept, and he immediately thought of the Pikmin. He saw that the Pikmin that had curled up beside him earlier were still curled up on the floor. Some were shivering harshly. A few of the others on the floor weren't moving at all... and Olimar didn't have to guess why.

Olimar blew his whistle at the curled up Pikmin. They slowly lifted their heads, and realizing that their leader was now awake, they slowly stood up and went up to Olimar. Seven Pikmin had laid down next to Olimar when he first took a nap. Now, only five stood up again.

Olimar then walked towards the area where he remembered leaving the Pikmin to play. He wasn't all too sure whether or not he was heading in the right direction, but all Olimar could do was hope that he was walking in the right direction either way while ignoring the bitter cold. The Pikmin stayed behind Olimar, slowly, steadily following him.

Olimar soon found out that he had reached the area where the Pikmin were playing when he saw a yellow Pikmin lying in the ground in front of him, face-first and half-buried in snow. The Pikmin wasn't moving at all. Revolted, Olimar moved on.

More bodies. Unmoving. Olimar felt colder than he already was, and it wasn't from the blizzard.

Eventually, Olimar came across a small bunch of Pikmin that were still alive. A few surviving Pikmin had grouped together in a small clump, presumably so they could preserve warmth. They looked up in alleviation as Olimar approached.

A thought suddenly occurred to Olimar. Why hadn't they ran back to the Onions when they noticed the dangerous change in climate? Could it be that they just didn't know, or did they have another reason entirely?

Olimar quickly pushed these thoughts away. His main concern right now were to help the surviving Pikmin get back to the landing site safely. He whistled towards the small group, and they slowly made their way to Olimar. Olimar made a quick count of the number of Pikmin in the group. There were only twelve Pikmin left, four of each color. Olimar felt horrified. Never, not even in fierce battles, has Olimar lost such a gasping amount of Pikmin! And this was just from weather conditions!

Olimar tried to grasp some strength. All he needed to do was walk all the way back to his ship and dismiss the Pikmin back into their Onion. No problem...

Olimar took a few steps forward, and the Pikmin, as usual, followed, still loyal.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

Progress was achingly slow. The cold from the blizzard had greatly hindered progress, and Olimar wasn't even sure how much ground they had traversed yet. Olimar decided to take a quick look behind him. The Pikmin were still following, looking just as cold as Olimar felt. He counted them once again. One, two, three... ten, eleven... Eleven? Olimar counted again.

He was right, there was now only eleven Pikmin left in his group. Olimar strained his eyes and looked into the distance behind him.

There it was. A blue Pikmin was lying in the ground not too far away. Olimar quickly turned around and headed back towards the lying Pikmin. The other Pikmin that were still following Olimar looked slightly confused, but they still followed him back nonetheless.

Olimar reached the lying blue Pikmin. It was still alive, but it was face-first in the snow. Only a few twitches across the body signaled that it was still alive. Olimar tried to whistle at the blue Pikmin, but the Pikmin didn't budge. Eventually, Olimar tried resorting to picking the Pikmin up himself. Olimar grabbed hold of the Pikmin stem, and pulled...

_Snap._

Olimar heard the sound, and it only took a look at the stem in Olimar's hand to realize what had just happened. The frozen stem had completely disconnected from the blue Pikmin's head the moment he pulled the Pikmin's stem.

Olimar felt as if he had reached the verge of his horrified state. Olimar dropped the broken stem and stared at it in a dumbstruck horror. He felt his body steadily getting colder and colder. Whether from guilt or from the snow, it didn't matter; they were now one and the same. The cold seemed to seep all over Olimar's body, encasing him, trapping him. Before he could stop himself, Olimar steadily blacked out, his last thought being of how he would never see his family again...

* * *

It was a miracle.

Because a few minutes later, Olimar woke up again.

The blizzard was still raging on around him, but now... Olimar was in the landing area again, right next to his ship.

Olimar tried sitting up... but he couldn't. His entire body was numbed from the cold, and he could only barely move his arms.

It was then that Olimar felt three warm body masses next to him. Olimar slowly tilted his head to all sides to see what was next to him. He saw three other Pikmin curled up beside him, obviously trying to keep him warm. There was a leafed red Pikmin, a budded blue Pikmin, and flowered yellow Pikmin. Those were the only three Pikmin in the area – the other nine were probably dead.

The thought occurred to Olimar that maybe he should dismiss the Pikmin into their Onions, where they would be safer, but Olimar could barely sit up. Once again, the thought occurred to Olimar as to why hadn't the Pikmin went into their Onions themselves.

It didn't matter though. Right now, he was glad to have their warmth next to him. Olimar promised to himself that once he had warmed up enough, he would bring them back to their Onions. For now though, Olimar let the warmth from the three Pikmin heal his own body. Olimar suddenly felt a sudden need to protect these three Pikmin from the cold, and he thinks he knew why.

Olimar realized just then that the Pikmin were just as much his own children to him as Olimar's children were back on Hocotate. An overwhelming gush of gratitude swept over Olimar as he realized just how much the Pikmin had helped him this whole time. And today, these last three surviving Pikmin had carried Olimar back to the landing site when he had collapsed, and even stayed near him and tried to keep him warm when they could have just went back into their Onions.

It is said that you don't know what you have until it's gone, and right then, Olimar felt like the prime example of that. Today, Olimar had lost a staggering number of Pikmin, a number of which he had never wished to come across. Now, the Pikmin, which he originally thought as simple creatures that were even slightly dispensable, had become Olimar's family.

So on the twenty-fifth day since impact on the planet, as Olimar and the three Pikmin huddled together in the landing area for warmth, Olimar finally gave to the Pikmin something that the Pikmin always gave Olimar, but he never usually gave back. He had given the Pikmin his love.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pikmin, period.**

**Well, you see why it's rated T now? Also, I know some of the things that happened in this story don't actually happen in the game, like the snow falling in the Forest of Hope, but have some faith will ya?**

**Anyways, I put a LOT of symbolism in this one-shot, which I could list, but I feel like that will spoil the deeper meaning of the story. I would also like to redirect you back to that one question that Olimar asked himself: Why _hadn't_ the Pikmin gone back to their Onions when the blizzard first set in? I'll give you a hint: it wasn't because they didn't know how to – they _did_ know how to get back to the Onions, but they had a specific reason for not doing so. With that hint I gave, I think it should now be fairly obvious as to what the answer could be. :)**

**Feedback is great, as usual. Thanks for reading!**


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